Sunday, July 25, 2010

My current blog design feels a little claustrophobic, so I'm keen to revamp but inspiration is proving difficult to come by, I do want to keep my Morris background though!

This time last week I was in County Waterford to visit my friend for a long weekend. I had a lovely time, her family are so warm and welcoming and her mum is a brilliant cook and a former vegetarian so she knows what's tasty for us herbivores.

I arrived at Tara's after a seven hour bus journey (if I drove it would take me half that time) and kipped out on the couch watching trashy tv, after dinner it was a pleasant evening so she brought me out to Tramore, a coastal part of Waterford. We went adventuring on the cliffs.

On Friday we went to the amusements in Tramore. It was my first time on the waltzers in years and my stomach may be older but no less hardened. I was disorientated but relieved when we disembarked! There was three of us girls in one of the only three occupied waltzers so the young lad on duty delighted in picking us as his main target for some serious spins.

On Saturday we went sales shopping where and had a lovely lunch and desert in a café on the docks called Berfranks, where our waiter was indifferent but the food was nice and the boss was a sweetheart, commenting how our group was like a rainbow (my purple trains and colourful top, my friends orange hair and the other girls pink and black hair). I've no pictures of this as I'm lazy and wasn't bothered to be honest.

We did go out that night, where we danced ourselves silly (I had stiff joints for two days afterward, no lie!) and I amused myself immensely afterward greeting everyone I passed on the street afterward with the Waterford greeting "Well!"

No visit to Waterford was complete without venturing to recently renovated and reopened Waterford Crystal. Tara works as a guide there, so I had more of an opportunity to chat to the carvers and engravings who were lovely and only too keen to entertain my many questions!

The level of skill is completely awe inspiring! This is Tara with a sculpture of the Waterford crest.

Joanna Newsom watch your back...

At the end of the tour you can get your photo taken to ~remember~ your trip, it gets emailed to you, it's cheesy but cute! I'm wearing my Orion cardigan that I bought 3-4 years ago and haven't worn since first year. I've fallen in love with it again and my bright purple trainers that I got in Oxfam for €6.50, love them!

Now I'm determined to list a few WC items on my wedding list when the time comes. Tara met John Rocha when he visited the factory at the start of the summer too, she says he was adorable in the flesh and he wore runners with his suit, but in a fashion forward way, naturally!

Also there is an Amish community in Waterford and they do the best Carrot Cake this side of the world, absolutely delicious, I have heard many reports of how good it is and it's true. The cake I brought home to my Dad got fairly battered on the bus journey back but it was devoured within a day so I didn't have a chance to snap a picture, I was too busy getting a slice for myself before it disappeared!

Friday, July 23, 2010

I was alerted to the existence of these beauties by Whisty and as my dad's a man of letters, (that is, a postman) I had to get my mitts on them. (Posties don't get free stamps/mail by the way.) They're even nicer in real life, the designers names are in an eye catching neon and are embossed (ooeerr!) for that extra luxe effect!

John Rocha, Philip Treacy, Orla Kiely, Lainey Keogh, Louise Kennedy and Paul Costello are the chosen designers. I'm a bit sore not to see Peter O'Brien on there though.

Now if I could only have some letters to post so I could send these high fashion lovelies to glamourous parts of the globe, or, er, even the other side of the country.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

For those of you in the UK and Ireland, a reminder to you that on More4 tonight as part of their True Stories feature they are showing the Oscar award winning film The Cove at 10pm. I urge you to watch it if you can and tell your friends and family to do the same. You'll never venture into a Seaworld again. It is one of the most profound and heart-rending films I have seen all year, everyone I've recommended it to has been touched by it and subsequently shown their families.

In short, The Cove follows renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry (of Flipper fame) and his team of activists in their efforts to capture and record evidence of mass dolphin slaughter and its subsequent impact on human health in the small coastal Japanese town of Taijii. The obstacles, denial and ignorance they face are unbelievable in this day and age.

Even if you can't watch it on television, rent it out from your local dvd store. It will open your eyes.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I know a lot of bloggers are anxious for July 25th, the premiere of season four of Mad Men. It's annoying being stuck in between series, I'm used to watching a series right through instead of tapping my fingers waiting week by week. I don't think I could get into another series, what are you guys watching? I'm watching True Blood week by week.

Anyway, whilst impatiently awaiting the return of Mad Men, I've had to amuse myself in some ways, so jib jab provided some amusement. G'wan have a laugh at my expense!

Lastly, this promo poster makes me all giddy and excited.First impressions - there's definite change of tone in Betty's wardrobe, she's no longer the naive housewife in 50s day dresses, but more assertive, more progressive in her fashion tastes. As for Peggy - woah! That 1950s catholic schoolgirl wardrobe and attitude is certainly dead and gone!

PS. Also - isn't Peggy's hair getting big? It says a lot about her new status and the bigger her hair gets, the more ambitious she's becoming. And that well cut suit, not a peter pan collar or ridiculous bow in sight! She's becoming more masculinized and one of the boys. Go Peggy!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Over a year of having my (second, RIP MacDreamy) Macbook I only recently got around to getting a case for it. Until this point I had this super nerdy ultra sensible black boxy toshiba backpack mum had gotten me. When in Glasgow however I don't want to be dowdy!

Finding a stylish macbook cover is more difficult than you would expect, but etsy again proved to be my saviour and I picked up this unashamedly twee tapestry cover from sandrastju, an etsy seller based in Lithuania who makes loads of great quality, colourful and ladylike macbook covers. It fits my mac perfectly and I'm in love!

Foof also has a decent selection of bright coloured laptop/ipod/iphone sleeves.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

My dad recently had a small reunion with some of his college buddies, he hadn't seen one of them for thirty years! He was described as still being in the seventies, technology wise. Which is true, but bless him, he's started using his email this week, painfully keying in individual letters. Key. By. Key.

So, one of his friends forwarded on some pictures from the college years! What's so special about these pictures is their shabby charm - the aging floral wallpaper, posters tacked up haphazardly on the walls, the pictures taken unbeknownst to the subject. It makes me sort of nostalgic really for those sepia days, when a picture was something to be treasured, expensive to process, tearing open the envelope to glimpse at moments that would forever remain frozen in time on that delicate matte paper. Now it seems there's too many fleeting moments, to be snapped, deleted, retaken, discarded and forgotten about. Thats why I've taken to using disposable cameras on occasion, so one day I might happen upon photos of myself and my friends, between the pages of a book, long forgotten about at the bottom of a drawer and smile.

Ah the curtains, the wallpaper, the pyrex dishes! The hair! I long for those days when hair was worn long and tousled. I also love looking at old food packaging, how simple and basic it was - straight to the point! MILK.

It's strange and sort of thrilling to see the face of one I know and love so well minus three decades worth of worries and lines and with a substantial amount more hair! The first photo is my favourite, love The Who poster pinned on the door!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Well, the title of my last post seems pretty apt. Its been over two weeks since I updated! I tend to post in waves. I'm a horrid procrastinator.So what have I been doing? Shopping mainly if I'm being honest! I've been up and down on the bus to Dublin meeting friends. I find that the bus puts me into a pensive mood, I guess because the journey is three and a half hours long (each way!) and I'm looking at fields and small towns most of the time.

One of the major events I partook in was Dublin Pride, on June 26th. It was my second Pride parade. The Civil Partnership Bill passed in the Dáil (Irish Senate) and Seanad, it will soon pass into law. It's progress!

It being pride there were rainbows everywhere! According to estimates 20,000 took part in the parade and 120,000 watched as the streets of Dublin surrendered to the drag queens for the afternoon! Weather wise it didn't rain (unlike my first Pride in 2008), the skies alternated between grey and blue, brightening up later on.

Whoever took this almost certainly had a few glasses of vino in them, obviously. I should point out that I am wearing Miss Opus Gei's halo, the act that took AMI 2010 by storm. (A few of my friends performed in and produced it.)

It was a lot of fun, the whole day. I consumed my fairrrr share of wine that evening shall we say! It really felt like summer, the whole weekend has been the highlight of my summer so far.

Like I've mentioned previously I began in Oxfam recently and I love it! I love coming across a bargain and selling on old clothes to new people, I just get such a buzz out of it I can't describe it. If I was to estimate though about 80% of the items donated are trash and not viable to sell. I can't wait to share my finds with you! Sligo isn't the most fashion forward city in Ireland but we have some lovely labels donated to us.

PS. In uploading these pictures it struck me that my camera is rubbish, or its probably my camera skillz, I always feel like such an amateur when looking at the semi-professional prettiness of other bloggers pictures, but eh, my lacklustre pictures are part of my charm, uh, right?

small town girl

Zoë, 24 year old art history graduate, from Sligo, Ireland. Searching for culture in the West of Ireland and beyond. Writes about the arts, culture, film and feminism. "The one thing I regret is that I will never have time to read all the books I want to read." (Francoise Sagan)(About)